lạ gì

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• lạ chi

Etymology

lạ (“strange; weird”) +‎ gì (“what; not at all”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laː˧˨ʔ zi˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laː˨˩ʔ jɪj˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laː˨˩˨ jɪj˨˩]

Phrase

lạ gì

1. whatever being discussed about is not strange or unfamiliar; I'm not unfamiliar with the fact that; everyone knows that

   Thằng đó thì lạ gì! ― That's so him! / That's so typical of him!

   Tao chả lạ gì ba cái vụ này. ― I see cases like this every day.

   • 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎^[1], published 1866, lines 5–6:

     𨔍(Lạ)之(gì)彼(bỉ)嗇(sắc)斯(tư)豊(phong)
     𡗶(Trời)撑(xanh)涓(quen)貝(với)𦟐(má)紅(hồng)打(đánh)㭴(ghen)

     It’s not strange that beauty may beget misery.
     The jealous gods tend to heap spites on rosy-cheeked beauties.